Police
Punched, kicked in the head and left unconscious at a bar
VERNON - A Vernon man was allegedly punched, kicked in the head and left unconscious at a local bar Sunday night and police need help with the investigation. Police are still trying to put the pieces together after the aggravated assault at Monashee’s Bar and Grill. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were dispatched to...
Prolific fraudster at it again
KELOWNA - A man known as a serial scammer is believed to be behind the latest string of reports in Kelowna. Police investigators say it appears a 40-year-old Kelowna man with a long list of convictions appears to be at it again, often using the story of a broken down truck or claiming he's a...
UPDATE: Body of missing Coldstream man found
VERNON - Vernon Search and Rescue located the body of a Coldstream man in the water by the wharf at Kal beach. RCMP divers were called and they recovered the body shortly after 1 p.m. today. The case is now in the hands of the B.C. Coroners Service. An RCMP appeal to the public to...
Major crime investigations interfere with proactive police work
VERNON - A number of time consuming investigations sucked up RCMP resources this summer and meant other crime in the city went unchecked, says Vernon’s top cop. Superintendent Reg Burgess presented a quarterly report to Vernon City Council Monday and said investigations into the city’s alleged serial arsonist, a shooting in Polson Park, fatal motor...
Vehicle tumbles down embankment, driver’s neck impaled with stick
VERNON - A local man remains in hospital with a neck wound after crashing his car over an embankment. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were called to the 6000 block of Cosens Bay Road Sunday around 5:40 p.m. for a report of a vehicle over the embankment. “The driver, a 21-year-old Vernon man, was...
Accident sends cyclist to hospital
VERNON - A cyclist was taken to hospital after colliding with a truck last Friday. Police were dispatched to the area of 39 Avenue and 32 Street around 7:50 a.m. Sept 5. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the driver of the truck was turning right as the cyclist came up beside him. The 30-year-old cyclist...
Donation jars lifted from Vernon corner store
VERNON - A thief was caught on camera after a botched robbery at a corner store in Vernon last week. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the crook entered Lakeview Market, located at 1501 32 Avenue, around 5:30 p.m. Friday. The approximately 40-year-old man had a white t-shirt wrapped around his face and yellow gloves on...
RCMP find guns and drugs in Highland Motel room
PENTICTON - Three people were arrested for drugs and possession of weapons on Saturday night at the Highland Motel after police were called to calm down a party. Police first spotted a sawed-off shotgun inside the room. After an investigation of the room, police seized additional weapons, a large quantity of MDMA (Ecstasy), other illicit...
Man arrested following taser incident
VERNON - An altercation involving a man with a taser at Lake City Casino led to an arrest last week in Vernon. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were notified of a man with a weapon at the casino around 11:30 p.m. Friday. “Our officers attend and learned there was a minor altercation with a...
Vernon officials investigate suspicious backyard grass fire
VERNON - Authorities in Vernon are investigating another suspicious fire, this time in a resident’s backyard. Fire crews were called to the 800 block of Mt. Bulman Place about 2 a.m. Monday to fight a backyard grass fire. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says the fire was quickly contained and the only damage was to...
Cause of barn blaze remains unknown
VERNON - What caused a Vernon barn to go up in flames remains a mystery. Police and the Vernon Fire Department continue to investigate the cause of last Thursday’s blaze on the outskirts of Vernon at a property in the 1100 block of Pottery Road. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says investigators have combed through the...
Osoyoos RCMP deal with vehicle-related crime
OSOYOOS - Osoyoos RCMP had a weekend full of vehicle-related crimes, varying from car accidents to drug possession. On Saturday, July 26 a vehicle pulling a boat hit a deer while driving on Highway 3. The car was pushed from the right lane to the left, and another car heading in the fast lane was...
Pilot of downed plane walks from crash site
VERNON - The pilot of a plane that crashed somewhere in the woods off Westside Road has been taken to hospital with undetermined injuries. Reports of a downed aircraft in the Six Mile Creek area on the west side of Okanagan Lake came in around 6:45 p.m. Monday. Emergency officials, and several nearby residents who...
UPDATE: Head-on crash sends 4 to hospital
VERNON – The investigation continues into the cause of a head-on collision on Highway 97 south of Vernon near the landfill. A large SUV towing a camper trailer and an SUV crossover hit near Westridge Road around 6:00 a.m. Thursday. Four people were rushed to Vernon Jubilee Hospital with traumatic but non-life threatening injuries, according...
Semi driver ok after flipping rig on Highway 97
VERNON - A semi-driver rolled his rig into the ditch on Highway 97 near O’Keefe Ranch just after 3 p.m. Tuesday. The driver, John Groot, says he was coming up the hill just past O’Keefe Ranch towards Vernon when another vehicle cut right in front of him. “I thought it was kind of close so...